Old warrior Jadeja's spin hits the rough in England

Hindustan Times

5 hours ago

MUMBAI: It's certainly not a good time for those seasoned players who formed the nucleus of the India side since Sachin Tendulkar retired in 2013. With Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar in the squad, Ravindra Jadeja needs to do far better as a left-arm spinner. (Reuters)
In the current transitional phase, the senior pros one by one have walked into the sunset, Virat Kohli following Rohit Sharma and R Ashwin into retirement while Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara have been out of favour for more than two seasons. When India last played in England, 2021, they were all in the playing XI, including Mohammed Shami, who is now battling fitness issues.
From among those who made their Test debut before 2015, only a couple remain – Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul. Rahul, 33, is going strong but the scrutiny is on Jadeja, 36, who made his debut in 2012.
With Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar in the squad, Jadeja needs to do far better as a left-arm spinner than he did in the first Test at Headingley to stay relevant in India's new era under young skipper Shubman Gill.
In the Leeds Test, Jadeja was the sole spinner. He picked up just one wicket across the two innings and wasn't effective with the ball. He failed to consistently target the rough outside left-hander Ben Duckett's off-stump on the fifth day, and the opener (61 & 149) plundered runs at will.
In the first innings, his figures read 0/68 in 23 overs. It was his bowling in the second innings that came for sharp criticism after going for 1/104 in 24 overs. He is known for doing a holding role to help build pressure, which he couldn't do effectively.
Though Jadeja was the preferred option over R Ashwin when India went in with a lone spinner overseas, his selection was mainly owing to his batting. His bowling record in England has been average – 23 wickets in 11 Tests.
Pressure has been mounting on Jadeja for some time now. It started with the series against New Zealand late last year when Indian spinners were out-performed by the visitors during the 0-3 whitewash at home. Jadeja's lack of wickets in the second Test at Pune was glaring, going wicketless in the first innings as India were routed by his NZ counterpart, Mitchell Santner, with 13 wickets. Jadeja came back well in the third Test for a 10-wicket match haul. It felt like he was back to his best. At the Wankhede Stadium, he couldn't help the team win, but the ball came out nicely from his hand as he extracted bite and turn. The joy was short-lived. He was dismissal in the Australia series that followed, taking four wickets in three Tests. India lost the series 1-3.
It can be argued that spinners have a limited role to play in English conditions, but there have been match-winning performances by the spin tribe, especially in the last innings with the wear and tear of the pitch being a factor. India's former leg-spin giant Anil Kumble played a dominating role in the 2002 victory in Leeds, taking four wickets in the second innings for a seven-wicket match haul.
Former left-arm spinner Maninder Singh had played a starring role in the second Test of the 1986 series at Leeds, claiming 4/26 as five wickets were taken by spinners, including one by Ravi Shastri, as England were all out for 128 in the second innings to lose the game by 279 runs. So, what's the key to doing well on venues like Leeds? For Maninder, it was not being too eager for wickets and concentrating on bowling well.
'I used to love bowling on good batting tracks. Even if I didn't get many wickets, it could curtail a batter (on a good wicket) and it used to give me a lot of satisfaction. So, I was not really running after wickets, that also helped, I think. I was only thinking of bowling well. I was only thinking of enjoying the ball coming out of my hand, which didn't put any pressure on me,' recollects Maninder, who picked 12 wickets in the three-match series.
'From the very first game, I realised what I needed to do for the ball to swerve how much far outside the off-stump, from where I had to deliver it from my hand. Luckily, I was in a kind of form that it didn't take me too long to understand what I needed to do,' says Maninder.
India have started off their five-match series against England on a losing note. The team will look to level the series when they face the hosts in the second Test from July 2 at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham. There's surely some help for the spinners at the venue if they know how to use it. For inspiration, Jadeja would do well to look at the record of his former captain at Rajasthan Royals, the late Shane Warne, at the venue. In just four Tests, the Australia legend has 25 wickets at Edgbaston, including three fifers and one 10-wicket haul.
It shows that though conditions favour the pacers more in England, if you have the quality and smarts, spinners have a role to play. The inexperienced India need their seasoned pro Jadeja to find his best.